Simplified storm door latch



May 30, 1967 w. M. KRANTZ 3,322,452

SIMPLIFIED STORM DOOR LATCH Filed June 4, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet l m2 3 42 I0 I 36 36 0 62 I 6 1.76 11,:

' 74 48 64 I 84 32 'I 3 60 6| 44 ll 92 INVENTOR WALTER M. KRA/VTZ BY 2M %2M ATTORNEYS y 0, 1967 w. M. KRANTZ 3,322,452

SIMPLIFIED STORM DOOR LATCH Filed June 4, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fl v WALTER M mag/W2 BY M a ATTORNEYS y 30, 1967 'w. M. KRANTZ 3,322,452

I SIMPLiFIED STORM DOOR LATCH 5 Filed June 4, 1964 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I E m 240 ZBEQLQTMMTM ml I 2 4 6 r: 2 O 242 W 5 logo 252 l 264 64 Y INVENTOR WAL TER M 'KRA/vrz ff 7J5 BY M s w v ATTORNEYS y 0 1961 'w.M.KRAN-.-z I 3,322,452-

SIMPLIFIEI) STORM DOOR LAT CH Filed June 4, 1964 5 Sheets$heet 4 INVENTOR WALTER M man/r2 BY ,JMfzm M ATTORNEYS y 30, 1967 w. M. KRANTZ SIMPLIFIED STORM DOOR LATCH 5 Sheets-6119M 5 Filed June 4, 1964 INVENTOR WALTER M. m/wrz wc A RNEYS" United States Patent fifice 3,322,452 SIMPLIFIED STORM DOOR LATCH Walter M. Kt'antz, 2355 Lake Shore Blvd, Mimico, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed .lune 4, 1964, Ser. No. 372,467 8 Claims. (Cl. 292254) The present invention relates to doors and more particularly to storm, refrigerator or like hollow metal doors with improved, more reliable, less expensive latch structures and the latch structure per se.

The latch structure utilized with prior art doors has, over the years of service since introduction, proved to be deficient in several important respects. The initial cost of the latch structure is comparatively high, principally because of the large number of individual, separately-manufactured components which make up the latch handles, the release actuator, and the catch portion of the latch structure. The dominant prior art latch structure has at least seventeen separate component parts. Consequently, the initial cost for that latch structure alone represents a considerable percentage of the overall cost of a new door, often on the order of Also, the cost of installation of the latch structure in usable position is relatively burdensome particularly for on-the-site installation by the homeowner or ultimate user. Installation of the dominant prior art latch structure requires six separate holes in the door frame and two holes in the doorway frame.

Furthermore, after such costly prior art latch structures have been installed in conventional doors, the frequency of replacement required is consistently inordinate. On the whole, the ultimate users find it necessary to replace the door latch structures every two or three years When the door is subjected to normal use.

An additional problem is present in the use of prior art latch structures since the catch and the structure which releases the catch are required to be in precise aligned position relative to each other. Hence, as a newly installed door sags with continued use, as all doors inevitably do to some extent, a misalignment results between the catch and the release structure. Consequently, as a regular pattern, often after only a few months of use, doors by virtue of this misalignment are prevented from coming to rest in the latched position, and therefore remain partially open. While in this condition, the door is vulnerable to wind damage. The hinges, the re traction cylinder, and the glass door panels, are often damaged or broken. The well being of small children in the house is not adequately safeguarded due to misalignment of the prior art latch structure since the door returns only to a partially open position rather than a latched position. Frequently, especially during warm weather the house door is left open and only a storm door, with screen or glass panels installed, separates the interior of the house from the outdoors. On such occasions, toddlers not infrequently press or run against the unsecured storm door which swings open as the child strikes against it causing him or her to fall out of doors upon the porch or like structure, causing a high incidence of injury simply because the storm door latch had failed to catch.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing prior art deficiencies by providing a novel and simplified door latch structure:

(1) Which has relatively few component parts and, therefore, is less expensive than the dominant prior art latch structures;

(2) Which may be either installed upon new doors or upon older, previously installed storm doors to replace damaged or inoperable prior art latch structures;

3,322,452 Patented May 30, 1967 (3) Which significantly alleviates the heretofore burdensome requirement of frequent replacement due to breakage and the like;

(4) Having several of its component parts constructed of durable and abrasive resistant plastic for increased longevity and reduced shipping weights, and incident freight charges;

(5) Which is able to be latched in proper position in spite of normal sagging of the storm door through use, thereby reducing the probability of injury to small children;

(6) Which is simple to install;

(7) Which permits. replacement of one component without complete replacement of the entire catch or catch release and handle assemblies;

(8) Which permits use of a novel one-piece storm door catch designed to be mounted upon the storm door frame or Z bar, which defines the opening which receives the storm door, rather than upon the house doorway frame;

(9) Which permits latching in direct surface-to-surface relation between the storm door and its surrounding frame structure rather than against any part of the opening handles, thereby assuring improved positive latching of the door and permitting installation of the latch at the factory;

(10) In which all component actuator parts are carried by the storm door per se, and, accordingly, may be assembled thereon before installation of the storm door;

(11) Including handles with bearing surfaces directly journaled in apertures in the storm door; and

(12) Including novel snap-in-place, self-lubricating plastic handles.

Other objects and novel features will become apparent from the appended claims and the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view, partly in cross-section, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the structural relationship between the release lever, the release rod and the storm door handles of the embodiment of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a. side elevational view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 showing one type of return spring for the release mechanism, which may be used with the latch structure shown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of FIGURE 1 with one storm door handle removed;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view, partly in crosssection, illustrating a further embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view taken along line 66 of FIGURE 5 illustrating the structural relationship between the modified release plate, the release rod and the handle attached actuator rods;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view taken along line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 exemplifying a second type of release mechanism return spring which may be used with the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is a side elevational view, partly in crosssection, showing in installed position presently preferred, novel, snap-in-place, self-lubricating plastic handles in combination with a release mechanism substantially the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly broken away in cross-section to illustrate the two piece shaft member which may be used with either the embodiment shown'in FIGURE 1 or FIGURE 8;

FIGURE is a fragmentary side elevational view of a further type of simplified catch structure which is secured in a recess in the framing or Z bar enclosing the storm door and has a plastic coating or jacket covering the locking head thereof;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary plan view of the catch structure of FIGURE 10, taken along line 11-11 thereof;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary plan view of a still further type of simplified catch structure having a reverse bend forming the locking head thereof;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary plan view in cross-section illustrating a plastic coating or jacket applied to the catch-affected area of the storm door;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in cross-section, showing the release lever, the releace rod, and the storm door carried, Z bar engaging latch of a modified form of the present invention;

FIGURE 15 is a bottom view, partly in cross-section, taken along line 15-15 of FIGURE 14 illustrating the type of latching relation effectuated between the latching head and the Z bar;

FIGURE 16 is a bottom view similar to that of FIG- URE 15 illustrating another type of latching combination;

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary plan view, partly in crosssection, of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 18 is a fragmentary elevational view, taken along line 1818 of FIGURE 17, showing one'end of the release rod, with the knob shaft removed for clarity;

FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary elevational view, taken along line 19-19 of FIGURE 17, illustrating the center and end segments of the knob shaft;

FIGURE 20 is a cross-sectional view, taken along line 20-20 of FIGURE 19, further illustrating the configuration of the center segment of the knob shaft; and

FIGURE 21 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 illustrating the two piece shaft and knob assembly of FIGURE 9.

With further reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals are employed throughout to indicate the same parts, FIGURE 1 shows a storm door provided with a preferred embodiment of the novel latch structure of the present invention. Storm door 20 may be of conventional design and is shown only fragmentarily in FIG- URE 1. Door 20 includes vertical stonm door frame member 22, generally a hollow standard aluminum extrusion. Panel 24 is conventionally removable and transparent and is held assembled to frame member 22 in the position indicated in FIGURE 1 by releasable clips 26.

Storm door 20 forms part of a storm door assembly, including an enclosing framing adapted for fixed attachment in the doorway opening, generally prefabricated in the factory for ready installation in existing house doorways. Storm door 20 is hinged through a second vertical frame member (not shown), which is substantially identical to vertical frame member 22, in house doorway 28 to the enclosing framing 30 which forms part of the storm door assembly. Vertical components 32 of enclosing framing 30 are commonly referred to in the trade as Z bar members. Z bar members 32 are held in position in doorway 28 by screws 36. Hinges (not shown), usually piano type hinges, join storm door 20 to one Z bar (not shown) in a conventional manner which forms no part of the present invention. Hence, storm door 20 may swing about its hinges past the leading edge of the Z bars to and from the open and closed positions within enclosing framing 30.

The low cost durable storm door latch of the FIGURE 1 embodiment of the present invention consists broadly of three parts, i.e. catch 40, release assembly 42 and actuator mechanism 44.

One-piece catch 40, preferably of leaf spring metal or of rigid plastic, such as Teflon, having suitable spring-like resilience, is inexpensively secured to Z bar 32 about midway of its height by one or more screws 46, which may be positioned either in the factory prior to installation of the storm door assembly or by the installer following placement of the Z bar in doorway 28. In this instance, catch 40 is biplanar with portion 48 being held contiguous with the doorway face of Z bar 32. Yieldingly protruding portion 50 of catch 40 includes locking head 52 at the end thereof, for novelly engaging longitudinally continuous lip 54 of storm door frame member 22. The novel cooperation between one piece catch 40 and lip 54 of frame 22 is such that no precise alignment is necessary between those members and. therefore, no adjustment of the storm door alignment with respect to catch 40 is necessary upon sagging of the storm door through use. Since catch 40 is one piece its initial cost is markedly lower than existing catches. Further since catch 40 contains no moving parts replacement is generally not necessary thereby obviating maintenance costs.

Release assembly 42 and actuator mechanism 44 have no latching cooperation with catch 40, since catch 40 solely cooperates with lip 54 to hold storm door 20 in the closed position against sealing strip 56 of Z bar 32. Release assembly 42 serves only to deflect protruding portion 50 of catch 40 away from member 22 in the direction of Z bar 32 to thereby release locking head 52 from its latched position against lip 54 permitting storm door 20 to be opened.

If desired, the catch portion of the present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Two such modifications are illustrated in FIGURES 10, 11 and 12.

Catch 194 of FIGURES l0 and 11 is secured in recess of Z bar 32 by any conventional means but preferably by releasable means such as screw 192. Catch 194 is uniplanar, thereby obviating any bending requirement and incident increased cost and possible structural weakness. To minimize wear between catch 194 and lip 54 of storm door frame member 22, which is usually made of aluminum, a plastic coating or jacket member 196 may be placed over locking head 198. Plastic member 196 may either be formed-in-place on catch 194 or it may be preformed and placed over locking head 198. Plastic member 196 is preferably of a durable, wear resistant, self-lubricating plastic such as nylon or Teflon.

Catch member 200, shown in FIGURE 12, may also be used as part of the present storm door latch invention. Catch 200 is essentially tri-planar and includes portion 202 contiguously secured to Z bar 32, as for example by one or more screws, central yieldingly protruding portion 204 and reverse end locking head 206. Catch 200 is designed to cooperate with the actuator and release assembly mechanisms of the present invention in the manner described above in conjunction with FIGURE 1.

Wear between any one of the catches described in the foregoing and lip 54 of member 22 may also be minimized by placing a plastic coating or jacket 210 about lip 54 in the contacting areas. Ease of release of the catch is also imposed by use of plastic member 210. As in the case of plastic member 196, plastic member 210 may be formed in place or preformed and fitted over lip 54.

Release assembly 42 of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 may be used with any of the above-described catches. It consists of release plate 60, juxtaposed on vertical edge 61 of storm door member 22 opposite catch 40, release plunger 62, which i fixed to plate 60 and is guidingly mounted in aperture 64 of storm door member 22 for axial sliding movement and actuating lever 66 (see FIGURE 2). Release plunger 62 has a portion 68 of decrease diameter at its end remote from plunger 62 fitted within elongated slot 70 of lever 66 which is fixed to rotate with knob shaft 102. When lever 66 is rotated consequential of turning of storm door knobs, face 72 of lever 66 engages shoulder 73 of central portion 76 of rod 62 to displace rod 62 axially into contact with and force plate 60 toward the left as viewed in FIGURE 1 to disengage locking head 52 of catch 40 and lip 54 thereby permitting the storm door to open.

Actuator plate 60 may be secured against transverse rotation by providing lever 66 with modified slot 71 (FIG- URES 4 and 8) which is rectangular and by providing rod 62 with modified rectangular end 69 appropriately dimensioned to mate with slot 71.

Once the storm door has opened, release of storm door knobs permits return of lever 66, rod 62 and plate 60 to their original positions by force of plate return spring 80 (see FIGURE 3) fixed to the edge face 61 of storm door framing member 22 by screw 82. While other forms of return springs may be utilized, plate return spring 86 is advantageous since it is inexpensive, durable, and easily installed in existing or new storm doors simply by providing one or more appropriately sized apertures in edge 61 of storm door member 22 adjacent aperture 64 and by attaching spring 80 by screw 82 or like means.

As best illustrated in FIGURE 2, lever 66 is preferably bi-planar, i.e. the portion including face 72 lies in a plane parallel to the axis of the shaft interconnecting the storm door handles and portion 84 lies in a plane transverse to that axis. Portion 84 of lever 66 includes rectangular aperture 85 (FIGURE 4) to receive shaft 102 interconnecting the storm door handles.

Actuator mechanism 44 of the embodiment of FIG- URE 1 may include exterior knob 90 with integral bearing surface 92 novelly journalled in aperture 94 of storm door member 22 and may be constructed of metal or rigid plastic material. Similarly, L-shaped interior handle 96 is provided with integral bearing surface 98 journalled in aperture 100 of storm door member 22 and is interconnected to knob 90 by substantially rectangular shaft 102 (see FIGURE 4), which has threaded portions 164 and 106 on the terminal ends thereof. Both knob 90 and handle 96 have internally threaded blind bores to receive the threaded ends of shaft 102, as for example at 108 of FIGURE 4. Set screws, such as 103 of FIGURE 4 nonrotatingly maintain knob 90 in their assembled position. Lever 66 is held in its substantially central position on shaft 102 by reason of the bias effect of springs 158 and 160 and accordingly spacer sleeves are not required and any possible binding there'between is prevented. For added stability member 68- may be provided with a recess along its longitudinal dimension so that when inserted through aperture 71 and rotated 90 reversal is prevented.

As can be seen by a review of the drawings and the foregoingdescription the present invention provides, in the embodiment of FIGURE 1, an inexpensive storm door latch structure which may be simply and inexpensive'ly installed, by the homeowner if he desires, .is easily disassemblable, minimized cost of repairs by allowing only the defective part to be replaced rather than necessitating, as do conventional latch mechanisms, complete replacement of the entire catch or release and actuator structure.

The above-described actuator mechanism 44 may be installed upon existing or upon new storm doors with equal facility simply by providing drilled apertures 64, 94 and 100 in the storm door frame member 22; placing lever 66 through one aperture with a pair of long-nose pliers or the like, inserting shaft 102 with knob or handle 96 and one spacer installed on one end manually through the other aperture into and through aperture 85 of lever 66 and the opposite aperture; placing the second spacer on the resulting protruding end of shaft 102 andmoving it toward lever 66 as the remaining handle is screwed 'upon shaft 102. Thereafter, release assembly 47 may be installed by inserting plunger 62, with plate 60 on the outer terminal end thereof, through aperture 64 of storm door frame member 22 to engage portion 68 in slot 70 of lever 66. Thereafter, spring 80, or like means, is installed on face edge 61 to hold release assembly 42 and actuator mechanism 44 in their assembled rest positions. Where installation is made in existing installed storm doors having multiple apertures for the conventional latch structure, the latch structure of the present invention may be installed by using some of the existing holes and plugging the remainder with snap-in-place plugs of any commercial ty-pe purchased on the open market or supplied with the latch mechanism of the present invention.

Actuator mechanism 44, with slight modification, may also be used with storm door carried latch-release assemblies of the type illustrated in FIGURES 14, 15 and 16. Latch release assembly 230 is outwardly biased toward Z bar 32 by spring 232. Spring 232 is apertured at 236 to receive release plunger 234 between its offset ends which bear against storm door edge 61 of member '22 about aperture 64 and against shoulder 238 to urge the double sloping wall latching head 240 into appropriately placed keeper recess 242 in Z bar 32. Such a latching head is particularly appropriate for refrigerator and refrigerator room doors to permit camming plunger 234 to its release position merely by the application of body pressure to either fa e of the door.

Spring 232 is shown to be rectangularly shaped in FIGURES 14 through 16, but it is to be understood that other shapes, such as circular, may be used. Latching head 240 may be integrally formed on or mounted on one end of plunger 234 in any suitable manner, as for example by welding, and may be of any suitable material and shape. Latching head 240 may be made entirely of durable, abrasive resistance plastic of well known types secured by bonding, screws or the like to plunger 234 or it may be of metal with or without appropriate plastic covering. The surfaces of keeper aperture 242 and/or the surface of Z bar 32 which faces storm door edge 61, across which the edge of head 240 passes, may be covered with wear resistance plastic or metal surfacing material.

A short distance from the other end 244 of plunger 234 is located tapered aperture 246 which receives end 248 of a release lever 250 either in loose engagement, as shown, or in surface-to-surface contact, if desired. Aperature 252 of lever 250 mates with and receives squared shaft 102a of actuator mechanism 44 and is held in the required central position by spacers 110 and 112, in substantially the same manner as is lever 66, supra.

Shaft 102:: may be placed at a position of lower elevation than plunger 234 so that lever 250 extends upward into aperture 246. With this arrangement, downward displacement of interior L-shaped handle 96 (see FIG- URE 1) will induce clockwise rotation of shaft 102a and lever 250, as seen in FIGURE 14, to withdraw head 240 from aperture 242 permitting the storm door to open. Spring 232, upon release of the storm door handle after the storm door has been opened, will return latch-release assembly 230 to the extended position shown in FIG- URE 14. Upon closing, the outward edge of head 240 will engage the opposite surface of Z bar 32 and consequently will be displaced to the right, as viewed in FIG- URE 14. Thereafter actuator mechanism 230 will re turn to its biased position when head 240 becomes alined with aperture 242.

Latching head 260 (FIGURE 16) may be used in place of head 242 with a spring of less rigidity to prevent inadvertent opening of the storm door induced by a small child striking the storm door or otherwise. Accordingly, in the closed position, face 262 of head 260 abuts edge 264 of aperture 242. Head 260 may be constructed and mounted on plunger 234 in a manner similar to head 240.

The embodiment of the present invention, depicted in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 has features similar to the embodiments of FIGURE 1. The release assembly and the actuator mechanism of FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 operates on a somewhat different principle. Storm door frame member 22 is provided with apertures and 132 to receive actuator rods 134 and 136 in encircling sliding engagement. As viewed in FIGURE 5, actuator rod 134 is moved toward the right, as indicated by the arrows, upon depression of lever 138 which pivots about bracket 142 at pin connection 140. Bracket 142 may be fixed in position on storm door frame member 22 by any conventional fastening means. Actuator rod 136 also is moved toward the right, as viewed in FIGURE 5, when knob 144 is depressed by one desiring to open the storm door.

The movement toward the right of either rod 134 or 136 causes release rod 150 to pivot in the region of aperture 152 of storm door frame member 22 causing portion 154 of tapered release plate 156 to move outward away from member 22 thereby compressing and releasing catch 40 from lip 54 (FIGURE 1). Upon opening of the storm door, release plate 56, released rod 150 and actuator rods 134 and 136 with their respective actuators or handles are returned to their rest positions by a pair of plate springs 158 and 160 (FIGURE 7) installed in a manner similar to plate spring 80 of FIGURE 3. Other types of return springs may be used.

One presently preferred commercial actuator mechanism is illustrated in FIGURE 8, wherein light weight, durable semirigid plastic knobs 170 and 172, each provided with a shank 175, an annular journal recess 176 and an annular retainer lip 178, are employed to carry connector shaft 180 which is substantially identical to shaft 102 of FIGURE 4, but preferably not having threaded terminal ends. Knob 172 can be replaced with an L-shaped handle similar to handle 96 illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2. Both knobs 170 and 172 are provided with a square or rectangular blind bore 182 for firm mating engagement with the respective ends of shaft 180. Preferably one the knobs may be permanently fixed to shaft 180 within the aforementioned blind bore, as for example by adhesive means. Installation of the actuator mechanism of FIGURE 8 and its associated release assembly may be accomplished in substantially the same manner as above described in conjunction with FIGURE 1. However, in this instance knobs 170 and 172 are manually snapped into storm door apertures 94 and 100, respectively, by placing lip 178 against the appropriate aperture and applying sufficient axial pressure to the knob while rotating it to thereby displace lip 178 into recess 176 and permit lip 178 to pass through the aperture. Thereafter, lip 178 springs out and resumes its initial shape as shown in FIGURE 8. Recess 176 then provides a durable self-lubricating bearing surface with the relatively soft metal of storm door frame member 22 and the knobs are held against inadvertent disassembly by means of the engagement of the radial faces of lip 178 with the inner face of the aperture defining portion of frame member 22. Hence, direct journalling of the knobs in apertures 94 and 100 of the storm door per se is achieved and the actuator mechanism is not required to carry its own separate journal bearings as is conventionally required.

For ease of installation, shafts 102 and 180 may be formed in two plastic pieces, for example as indicated in FIGURE 9, with shaft member 212 having key-way 214 and shaft member 216 having male extension 218 designed to tightly mate with key-way 214. Lever 66 may also be formed integrally with one of the two shafts as at 220. Handles 170 and 172 may also be integrally formed with their respective shafts and may include tapered lip 178 to facilitate assembly as described above and to prevent inadvertent removal of the handles during use.

Should it be desired to have the release assembly and the actuator mechanism as substantially the same elevation, the embodiment shown in FIGURES 17 through 20 may be utilized. Latching head 260 and its cooperation with 264 in Z bar 32 as well as spring 232 have been previously described in conjunction with FIGURE 16. Accordingly, further description is deemed unnecessary.

The release assembly of FIGURE 17 differs from those previously described in the provision of plastic liner 270, which is preferably force-fitted into aperture 64 to provide a durable wear-resistant sleeve slidably receiving release rod 272. Plastic liner 270 is preferably of nylon or Teflon-type material and may be used in any desired modified form to line any of the aforedescribed apertures in storm door member 22. Release rod 272 includes irregularly shaped apertures 274 (FIGURE 18) near end 276.

Actuator mechanism 278 is composed of plastic handles 170 and 171 constructed and attached to their interconnecting shaft and journalled with apertures 94 and 100 as are handles 170, and 172 of FIGURE 8, described above. Handles similar to and 96 could be used if desired. Actuator or knob shaft 280 is composed of substantially square end segments 282 and 284 and integrally joined center segment 286 (FIGURE 19). In the installed position center segment 286 freely fits through aperture 274 of rod 272. Side 288 of center segment 286 provides a wedge-shaped recess which, in the installed rest position, fits over wedge-shaped protrusions 290 of aperture 274 in mating relation. Apertures 94 and 100 are so positioned in storm door member 22 to force side 288 against protrusion 290.

Rotation of either handle or 171, in either direction, will eccentrically revolve center segment causing displacement of rod 272 toward the right as viewed in FIGURE 17 to release head 260 from latching engagement with keeper aperture 242 and thereby permitting the storm door to open. Displacement of rod 272 is effected by sliding engagement of edge 292 of center segment 236 against surface 294 of protrusion 290 or by sliding engagement of edge 296 against surface 298, upon rotation of shaft 280 by handle 170 or 171. Wall 300 of aperture 274 is spaced a sufficient distance from protrusion 290 to prevent binding with segment 286 during rotation.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A door assembly adapted for installation in a building doorway opening comprising an enclosing framing for said doorway opening including first and second opposing runs respectively providing a hinge mounting and an opposing mount for a catch means; a metal door including an encircling frame providing first and second opposing runs, said first run of said door frame carrying hinge means for mounting said door on said first run of said enclosing framing and said second run of said door frame being hollow to receive and form the sole encasement and support for catch release actuator means; door catch means disposed along said second run of said enclosing framing; and catch release actuator means directly mounted in said hollow second run of said door frame in opposing relation to said catch means, said catch release actuator means including a member extending through and supported by the edge face of said hollow second run of said door frame and spring biased away from catch release position and hand knob means directly mounted in said second hollow run and connected to said member and manually operable to overcome said spring bias to disengage said catch means thereby freeing the door for opening movement around its hinge means.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said catch means comprises a thin spring metal plate having a marginal edge portion adapted for attachment to said second run of said enclosing framing adjacent its leading edge and an angularly related portion inclined away from said marginal edge portion and into said doorway opening into position to yieldingly engage said face edge of said door frame and said manual catch release actuator member comprises a reciprocal plunger slidably mounted in the edge face of said door and adapted, upon operation of said actuator means to depress said angularly related portion of said spring metal plate and move it out of engagement with said face edge of said door frame.

3. A latch mechanism for storm or like hollow'metal frame doors comprising a spring metal plate-like catch having a marginal edge portion attached to an encircling doorway defining framing and an angularly related portion extending away from said marginal edge portion into the path of movement of the free edge framing of a door hinged to said encircling doorway defining framing and catch release mechanism directly mounted in and solely encased by said free edge framing of said door comprising a shaft, having its opposite ends fixedly fitted to hand hold knobs, journalled in aligned apertures in the opposite faces of said free edge framing of said door, a plunger slidably mounted in an aperture formed in the edge framing face of said free edge framing of said door and disposed with one end adjacently related to said shaft and a plunger actuating arm fixed to said shaft between its opposite ends and connected to said one end of said plunger to reciprocate said plunger from a normal retracted position to an extended position to depress said angularly related catch portion upon rotation of said shaft and said hand hold knobs.

4. A combination as'defined in claim 3 wherein said plate-like member is a leaf spring.

5. A combination as defined in claim 3 further including spring means for returning said plunger to its retracted position.

6. A combination as defined in claim 5 wherein said spring means is a plate spring mounted on the face of said door.

7. A combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said hand hold knobs and shaft are integrally formed of plastic and each knob provides a shank portion with a recessed circumferential bearing surface thereon of a diameter to assure a journalled fit with said door apertures and an annular end flange of greater diameter than the shank portion and having a flat radially directed face respectively disposed to engage the related inner wall face defining said door apertures to prevent axial disassociation movement of said shaft in either direction through said door aperture.

8. A casingless storm door latch release assembly for direct mounting in a hollow storm door frame member providing an edge face and respective right angularly related inner and outer side faces integrally edge joined to said edge face in spaced parallel relation: comprising a latch plunger cross-sectionally dimensioned to slidably fit a through bore provided in said edge face and including an enlarged head; a biasing spring having at least one bearing portion engageable with said edge face and a second bearing portion engageable with said head, said biasing spring being arranged to maintain said latch plunger in one of its extreme positions in said through bore; a knob shaft including means drivingly engaged with said latch plunger for shifting said latch plunger toward its other extreme position in said through bore against the bias of said spring upon rotataion of said knob shaft, being cross-sectionally dimensioned to freely pass through aligned through bores formed in said inner and outer side faces of said door frame member in juxtaposition to said face e'dge through bore and of a length to assure disposition of its opposite ends in adjacent relation to said aligned through bores; and hand knobs on said knob shaft ends for conjoint rotation therewith and including shank means formed to effect a snap in journal fit with an adjacently related aligned through bore to thereby journal said knob shaft against relative axial movement in said aligned through bores.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 194,166 8/1877 New brough 292-254 X 934,702 9/1909 Thomas 292-358 X 1,089,324 3/1914 Chesley 292-254 X 1,432,599 10/ 1922 Hastings. 1,873,803 8/1932 Wilson 292-164 2,194,601 3/1940 Kuethe 292-254 2,725,960 12/1955 Milone 189-46 2,946,614 7/1960 Russell 292-341.11

FOREIGN PATENTS 735,678 7/ 1931 France.

98,027 5/1961 Netherlands.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. RICHARD E. MOORE, Examiner. 

3. A LATCH MECHANISM FOR STORM OR LIKE HOLLOW METAL FRAME DOORS COMPRISING A SPRING METAL PLATE-LIKE CATCH HAVING A MARGINAL EDGE PORTION ATTACHED TO AN ENCIRCLING DOORWAY DEFINING FRAMING AND AN ANGULARLY RELATED PORTION EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID MARGINAL EDGE PORTION INTO THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE FREE EDGE FRAMING OF A DOOR HINGED TO SAID ENCIRCLING DOORWAY DEFINING FRAMING AND CATACH RELEASE MECHANISM DIRECTLY MOUNTED IN AND SOLELY ENCASED BY SAID FREE EDGE FRAMING OF SAID DOOR COMPRISING A SHAFT, HAVING ITS OPPOSITE ENDS FIXEDLY FITTED TO HAND HOLD KNOBS, JOURNALLED IN ALIGNED APERTURES IN THE OPPOSITE FACES OF SAID FREE EDGE FRAMING OF SAID DOOR, A PLUNGER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN AN APERTURE FORMED IN THE EDGE FRAMING FACE OF SAID FREE EDGE FRAMING OF SAID DOOR AND DISPOSED WITH ONE END ADJACENTLY RELATED TO SAID SHAFT AND A PLUNGER ACTUATING ARM FIXED TO SAID SHAFT BETWEEN ITS OPPOSITE ENDS AND CONNECTED TO SAID ONE END OF SAID PLUNGER TO RECIPROCATE SAID PLUNGER FROM A NORMAL RETRACTED POSITION TO AN EXTENDED POSITION TO DEPRESS SAID ANGULARLY RELATED CATCH PORTION UPON ROTATION OF SAID SHAFT AND SAID HAND HOLD KNOBS. 